Busy Week Tips

Whoo-hoo for Sue R. (comment left at 11:16 pm on 10/2) You are the winner of the weekend’s giveaway of cinnamon Starbucks coffee and our Proverbs 31 devotional. Please send your home address to [email protected], along with what you won, so we can get your prize out to you right away!

What does your week ahead look like?

Mine involves getting the kids and hubby off to West Virginia to meet up with their sister (who lives in NC) for a father-child white-water rafting and camping trip.

I won’t be a part of the sleeping on the ground in a tent, cooking over a fire, risking life and limb in a rubber boat whizzing speedily down a rocky river.

Bummer.

Well, not really since my idea of roughing it is when I can’t get an extra pillow from the front desk at the Holiday Inn. ;-)

Instead this week,  I get to hang out with some of my favorite people in Colorado Springs.

Hearts at Home and Focus on the Family.

I’ll be recording some shows for Focus and speaking at the Hearts conference. And, one of the nights, I’ll get to hang with my sweet and frugal friend Jonni McCoy of Miserly Moms.

This makes me happy. But, it also makes me a bit frenzied. There are notes to go over, a skit to rehears, packing to be done, etc…

You know when you have a busier-than-normal week, whatever that holds, you gotta be on top of the game. So, here are a few busy week tips for you that have helped me:

~Simple food. A fall favorite we are having this week? Pulled pork in the crock-pot. Place a boneless pork roast in the crock pot. Salt & pepper. Cook 8 hours on low. Drain off most of the liquid. Shred with two forks and pour over 2-3 cups Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce. Serve on kaiser buns with chopped onion and sweet relish. For the sides—deli coleslaw and fruit.

~Simple schedule. This is not the time to be running unnecessary errands. Sure, you may want to check out the new colors of paint for the living room. But if you aren’t going to paint it for two weeks, you don’t need to do it now. Don’t clog your week with errands and small tasks that can wait.

~Simple lists. If not doing those tasks and running those errands now makes you worry you’ll forget them, start a list or two. May this prior post on list making will help you. Just don’t get all confused reading it thinking the giveaway it featured is still going on. It is not, but the info on making lists may help you get organized.

~Simple prayers. I’m not talking about hours spent alone in quiet meditation (although those times are fabulous when you can work them in!) I’m talking about working prayer into your busy days. When you are folding laundry, pray for your family. When you are peeling potatoes, don’t listen to the TV, pray for those you know who are sick. When driving alone, talk to God about the anxiousness in your heart. I have come to believe this may be what is meant by “pray without ceasing” in the Bible. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18)

I’ll pause again in the midst of this busy week to check in again. Hopefully with a giveaway from an up and coming new worship artist you are gonna love!

Blessings,

7 Comments

  1. I think we need to get a crock pot :)

    I’m making chili today but on a stove in a regular pot. Prayerfully it is quick and tasty. These days nothing seems quick but I keep reminding myself that it’s a season and it will pass.

    Praying for your family’s trip and for all the tasks God has set before you to accomplish this week. Love you friend!

  2. What a perfect time for some busy week ideas! It feels like I am busy all the time (Well, b/c I AM!) but this is the third week of three in a row where I am working every day. Love the pulled pork idea – I hope I can sell my husband on it. In our realm of labor division, he makes the meat purchases in bulk. For me to ask for a pork roast if there isn’t one in the freezer will mean “no.” Truly, cooking at the end of long, tiring days is the worst for me! I envy the gals who like to cook, or who have time to cook, or who are creative cooks. I am none of the above!

  3. Your suggestions are great! I do have a busy week and I’m gonna try them out.
    I will pray that your week goes smooth though it is busy.

    Blessings

  4. I have a busy week coming up too! It includes (among other things) my mother-in-law’s surgery (I’m taking her to the hospital at 5:00AM–YIKES!!!), a college visit with my daughter, and a speaking event for Christian Store Week.

    THANK YOU for your tips! As soon as I finish this I’m getting a roast out of the freezer, to start in the crock pot tomorrow morning. I have also made a list of things to do while “waiting”–reading books to review, writing cards to several people who need encouragement, etc. This way I make the best of time “waiting” at the hospital, in the car or at home between committments.

    May God bless everyone’s busy weeks!

  5. I am sitting at my desk at work, eating my breakfast of peanut butter and jelly on homemade bread…….how simple is that! I get tired, mentally and physically of the hurry and look to find simple!! I am so thankful for you and your blog. It gives me so much to think on!!! Have a good week of “roughing it”.

  6. Thanks for the suggestion of the pulled pork in the crock pot! Last week I made a pot roast with veggies and let it stew all day. What a great feeling to know dinner was basically taken care of by 9 a.m.! I will try making the pulled pork for the family this week on one of my busiest days.
    Prayers for your busy week as you travel; that you will reach the hearts of many through your interviews and work at the Hearts conference.; and that you stay healthy!

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